Tony Nadal has affirmed this Monday regarding his nephew and former pupil Rafael Nadal that “I would never say of a relative that he is a genius”despite the fact that many consider the Mallorcan, winner of 21 Grand Slams, the best tennis player in history.
“There are different measures to determine who is number one (of all time),” said Toni Nadal at a press conference after presenting, together with tennis player Feliciano López and promoter Edwin Weindorfer, the ATP 250 grass tennis tournaments and the Mallorca Golf Open.
“The one who has played the best in some tournaments, or the one who has played the best for the longest time; the one who has had the most wins. That goes to taste of each one; Depending on what you look at, they could be (Roger) Federer, (Novak) Djokovic or Rafel, who is the one who has won the most Grand Slam titles with less participation. In any case, my opinion is not valid because he is my nephew, and if I considered that someone else is the best, I would not say so”, he clarified. Toni Nadal was reminded that years ago he defined Federer, who has 20 “greats” like Djokovic, as a tennis genius, and replied that the Swiss “is a guy who has managed to transcend his sport”.
“But apart from that (Federer) has achieved maximum efficiency with super elegance, you can’t ask for more; As for Rafael, obviously, he has also had to change things, but I think that is what all those who stay at the top for a long time do. It is impossible to stay on top if you are not constantly reconfiguring yourself”, he valued. In this context, he also gave his opinion on the changes that his nephew’s game has undergone since he directed it.
“He has changed, the same as Federer. If you run a little less you know you have to shorten the points. The level of Rafael’s game between 2008 and 2010 was very high. Today he has a little less physicality, of course, but his game is more complete, he now serves much better”, he remarked. Regarding the chronic injury (Müller-Weiss syndrome), which his nephew suffers in his left foot, Toni Nadal recalls that it was detected in a tournament in Estoril (Portugal) in 2004, and that a year later they learned that it was “a complicated subject”.
“The specialist who saw him told us that it was very difficult for him to be able to play sports at the highest level, but (Rafael) has been cheating in the best possible way, because in bad weather he has a good face. It looked like he was going to have a short race, but everything turned out much better than we expected. You will have a solution when you finish your career, but not while you play. Depending on the operation that is done, he will not be able to play at a high level anymore, that is why it cannot be done now,” he said. Finally, Toni Nadal gave his opinion on his nephew’s 21 Grand Slams and if they were enough to go down in history as the male tennis player with the most “big” titles in history.
“I have no idea, I wish it was. Djokovic, a priori, is the top favorite to win (this year) at Wimbledon, at Roland Garros I hope it will be Rafael and at the US Open I don’t know; it may or may not be enough. The reality is that it is increasingly difficult to win a Grand Slam because of the age that the three of them are getting (Federer, Djokovic and Nadal) and because of the people who come from below”, Toni Nadal finished.